Thursday - December 14, 2017

Pittsburgh PA Vein Centers Offer New Advanced Vein Treatments

Posted onJune 9, 2016

Advanced Vein Centers around Pittsburgh are working to help patients suffering from various vein issues. Vein issues can cause cosmetic issues like varicose veins and spider veins, but even more importantly can cause severe inflammation and pain for those who suffer. Dr. Christina F. Teimouri, DPM and her staff operate Advanced Vein Centers around the Pittsburgh area and have worked to provide relief for countless patients suffering from these issues.

In a recent interview, Dr. Teimouri explained, “Here’s some basic information about your veins: First, you’ve got two main ones in each leg. One runs down the inside of the leg, from upper thigh to ankle. The other is found on the back of the calf, running from the back of your knee down to your ankle. These are the saphenous veins, and everybody’s got them. The important thing to realize is these veins are the root cause of almost all leg vein problems, almost 100% of the time. It’s like a tree—when the trunk is diseased, disease in the branches is sure to follow.”

She continued, “Secondly, let’s consider what blood vessels actually do. You’ve got two types, arteries and veins. Arteries branch out from your heart, and carry oxygen to literally every cell in your body. The pressure generated by your heart pumping is what keeps this blood moving. Needless to say, arteries are vital. Veins are the other half of the circulatory system, bringing blood back to the heart. The blood is then pumped out again and the cycle continues. Since the blood in veins is under much less pressure than arterial blood pumped directly from the heart, they depend on a series of valves to keep blood flowing efficiently. (Important note: even if you’ve got extensive vein disease in your legs, you’re not in immediate danger—blood is still getting back to your heart).”

After getting this short lesson on how veins work, we asked her to explain the problems that occur. She stated, “There are the cosmetic problems like varicose veins and smaller spider veins caused by faulty or leaking valves in the veigns. They’re unsightly, but don’t usually affect how your legs actually feel. Remember, we’re dealing with blood that’s pooling—collecting in the legs. Think of the water balloon again. As it takes on more water it becomes heavier: Swollen with fluid, basically. If your legs are tired and painful, your ankles swell, and you’ve got to put your feet up for relief, this is more or less what’s happening to the veins in your legs. This is the basics of how vein problems work, which would be interesting but wouldn’t mean much if there weren’t a solution.”

Asked about how the healing process goes for these issues, she continued, “At The Advanced Vein Center, we provide two basic treatment options. Vein ablation is used to shut down the flow in one or both of the saphenous veins in the affected leg, without damaging the surrounding tissue. This sound like it would create a circulation problem, but actually doesn’t. Each leg contains literally miles of veins, which is not only amazing, but also means blood has a multitiude of routes back up your leg. The blood simply flows into veins with working valves. For surface spider veins, the preferred treatment is microphlebectomy or sclerotherapy. While the names sound very involved, all of these processes are as simple and as non-invasive as possible. Both are extremely safe outpatient treatments which typically take about an hour. This bears mentioning again—with these treatments, it’s possible to walk into our clinic and leave in about one hour with your vein problem solved. Without the long, painful recovery time associated with some older procedures. The worst part for most patients is wearing compression stockings for two weeks after the treatment—a very small price to pay for correcting a problem most patients have dealt with for years.”

Dr. Teimouri and her staff offer 8 locations in and around the Pittsburgh metro area. The first step is going in for a consultation. They offer options that are safe and effective for the vast majority of patients.